Green foot forward

​Celery was invited by Camper, the Spanish shoe company, to lead a workshop on whole-system design near the company’s headquarters in Mallorca. We created a series of workbooks for the event, which begin by framing the role of the designer quite broadly: “We are here to design an object, an experience, a business model, a pattern of behavior, a collective impact.” After opening discussions, the group created a massive map showing all of the materials, energy, and experiences that go into making, marketing, using, and disposing of shoes. We then used the map as the basis for a series of themed exercises that challenged participants to rethink the aspects of the system.

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The outcome of all this was a bunch of ideas generated by Camper designers, visiting design students, and Celery that variously closed material loops, extended the useful life of objects, and challenged our preconceived notions of what “green” design could be. Our personal fave was “The Rafa” concept shoe in honor of Mallorca native Rafael Nadal, with felty plugs of recycled tennis balls embedded in natural latex to create soft, yellow polka-dot shoe soles.